


Beat The Odds

by sobachka



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo, The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Hogwarts AU, canon a lot of things, canon ships, sorcerer's stone, there's a heist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23294629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sobachka/pseuds/sobachka
Summary: The Crows at Hogwarts on a heist for the rumored Philosopher's stone.~Kaz felt his fingers trace the familiar shape of the Cobra on his own cane, as he reached the first landing. The First Years had already been brought up, and he could hear their excited chatter through the closed doors, as someone, likely the Captain, showed them each to their assigned rooms. Kaz continued up, the steps curving under his feet as he passed the second landing, this one for Second and Third years, who were likely already in bed. Nothing but hushed voices could be heard, but even those were quickly silenced at the steady sound of his cane against the floorboards.By now, they all knew who it was. Kaz felt the corner of his mouth twitch up, a tad prideful.
Relationships: David Kostyk/Genya Safin, Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik, Nikolai Lantsov/Zoya Nazyalensky
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There have been some major changes since I started writing this! Make sure to read from Chapter 1. This is a heist, and it takes time and patience, so bear with me!  
> I appreciate comments and feedback~

Three out of the four houses that left the Great Hall headed towards the moving staircases. Each to a different corner of the castle in order to reach their common rooms. Gryffindors climbed up until they reached Gryffindor tower, where they had to spit out a password to that God-awful fat lady Portrait. Ravenclaws went through a similar process on the other side of the Castle. Only, to enter they were asked a riddle. Hufflepuffs went straight past the staircases, instead to a secret passage leading to the kitchens

As for the Slytherins, they never got near those stairs. Instead, their common room took them down a side passage and then into the dungeons.

Of course, no one was supposed to know about the different places. The only common room you concerned yourself with was your own.

But Kaz Brekker had taken to learning the ins and outs of this place since he’d first come to Hogwarts. When he’d learned that the common rooms were secret, he made a point to visit each and every one of them.

Hufflepuff was the first one he’d found, after trailing a student there. He had watched carefully, as the student played a beat and then was immediately let in. Kaz had been about to follow when someone else came out of hiding, and attempted to replicate the beat. The other student was a Gryffindor, tall and lanky. Brekker had considered helping him out, but decided to watch instead. The boy tapped out a beat- the  _ wrong  _ beat- and was promptly doused in what smelled like vinegar.

"Holy-" the boy's eyes had gone wide as he shook himself off "why would anyone-"

"Because you did it wrong," Kaz had said, revealing himself.

He walked up to the boy, glared at him, then went to tap out the tune against the wall.

The bricks that once made up a solid wall slid away to reveal a room, not unlike Slytherin's own common room.

Only this one had a disturbing amount of yellow everywhere.

"You're not supposed to enter any other common rooms, you know" the boy said, his eyes on their newfound discovery.

"No. But if you're going to break the rules, you do it right" Kaz had responded.

That was the first mission he and Jesper went on together. They teamed up for Ravenclaw's common room, where, to his own surprise, the Gryffindor was the one to solve the riddle that let them in.

He'd kept him close after that. Not only because he was useful but also because… Well he wasn't all that bad.

Now, Kaz followed his own house as they were led down the spiraling staircase that would land them in their dungeons. 

Sturmhond hadn't stopped talking since they'd left the Hall. And though he did his best to ignore him, Kaz still found some of his words going through.

"-you do have to attend your classes. At least  _ most _ of them, but when you aren't there, this is where you get to stay"

Kaz rolled his eyes as their Captain made a big show of knocking on the empty wall. The children were all so fascinated by him, as he had them all guess passwords to see if it would work.

Then he whispered what must have been the password to one of the children, who whispered to the next and then the next.

"On the count of three, come on!"

"One, two, three!  _ Anilius! _ " They all shouted enthusiastically

The Captain turned his excited gaze on the students. "It worked!" He exclaimed, as if he had ever doubted it.

Kaz wondered how it was possible for him to seem so cheery in a dank and crowded staircase, with hardly two torches lighting the way. But Sturmhond was always like this, always the personality he needed to be for the people he was around.

The walls rumbled for a second before sliding upwards to create a doorway that leads to a large passage.

_ Anilius, _ Kaz thought. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what that was, but he didn't need to guess too far. For the past five years he'd been at Hogwarts, it's been a type of snake. He just hadn't known there would be so many.

The password was changed daily, and though most people forgot them after use, Kaz was certain they had never reused a single name.

_ How many snakes could there possibly be? _

He shoved those thoughts away, focusing instead on getting to his room, his bed. It was a bit of a journey there, and his leg was beginning to ache from the effort.

It had been with Jesper, when they'd breached Gryffindor's common room that it happened. It was the middle of the night, and Kaz Brekker was far from his Slytherin common room. But Jesper had agreed to let him into Gryffindor common room if he in turn brought him to Slytherin's that same night.

He'd agreed.

After leaving Gryffindor Tower, they'd gotten on one of the moving staircases. Jesper may have been familiar with the place, but Kaz was not. 

He'd taken a couple steps when the stairs rumbled and swung to the other side, throwing him off balance. Kaz had been thrown forward, his body rolling down the stairs, with nothing to break his fall until-

_ Crack. _

His leg fell straight through a broken stair, it's jagged edge digging into his skin. Kaz gasped, grabbing onto the rails to halt his fall. His head was still spinning.

He remembered the pain. It felt as though his leg had been torn from the rest of his body. He'd struggled, holding in his cries. Jesper was at his side a second later, helping him out.

"Oh crap! I should've warned you about that one!" He said, throwing Kaz's arm over his shoulder so they could move.

"I'll take you to the nurse-" Jesper had promised, but Kaz didn’t let him finish.

"And get us both expelled tonight? No, I'm fine, it's just a twisted ankle" they'd both known that wasn't true.

With Jesper's help, he'd limped all the way over to Slytherin's dungeons, still refusing to cry out or admit he was in pain.

Only when they reached there, someone was waiting for them.

"Brekker. And is that Fahey? What on Earth are the two of you doing out of bed?"

"Professor Retvenko" Kaz said, detaching his arm from Jesper, even though the pain made his eyes water. He stood on both feet.

"We're sorry, sir." Kaz let his head drop, as though in shame, and it helped to hide his pain.

"There's plenty to be sorry about!" He snapped, clearly feeling grander by the apology.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's a Slytherin leading a Gryffindor to his own common room! And you both know it's against the rules."

At that, Jesper had looked down, then said "we're sorry, sir, but if we could just go to the nur-"

"Headmaster. We can explain ourselves. We made a mistake and we deserve to be punished" Kaz interrupted him. He wasn't an idiot, and the two of them needed to make it through the night.

"And you will be! Come on now, both of you" Professor Retvenko had walked ahead of them, and they followed.

Jesper kept casting Kaz side glances, clearly sensing his pain. Kaz only stared straight ahead.

If they went to the nurse, and tried to explain how he'd been injured, she would know they had been to the Gryffindor common room. 

They might get punished for  _ attempting _ to enter a different room, but they'd both be expelled if anyone found out they'd actually done it.

So he stayed silent. 

His leg must've healed wrong, and he knew even magic couldn't fix it, so he got himself a cane, and decided he was all the better for it.

He was a Slytherin, after all, and he knew people feared him. He'd heard the rumors, though he'd never tried to dissuade people of their beliefs. 

The students filed into the room, crowding it as they laughed and talked. Kaz could hear Sturmhond and a few others giving the students a tour of the place. 

Kaz himself took a breath, unable to deny the reassuring feeling of having returned someplace familiar.

Slytherin's room welcomed him back with the comforting green of it's walls. There were no windows, and the ceiling was low. It might have been creepy if not for the fireplace burning in the corner and the familiar sunken couches.

Kaz considered throwing himself onto one now, if only to rest his leg for a moment. Still, he couldn't deny the fatigue clawing at him, as it had been a long day. Sleep would be better for him than a few moments of rest.

So he turned towards the many stairs and began making his way up.

Step by step.

The Dormitories took up four stories, separating the different years, and allowing the older students more privacy. Kaz started on the left staircases, the ones leading up to the boys’ rooms. The staircases were all made of the same dark wood, covered with a thin gray carpet all the way up, dirtied from years of being stepped on. The handrail lining either side of the stairs held the shape of snakes coiling around a standard bar, their details carved from metal, and their silver bodies shining in the light. 

Kaz felt his fingers trace the familiar shape of the Cobra on his own cane, as he reached the first landing. The First Years had already been brought up, and he could hear their excited chatter through the closed doors, as someone, likely the Captain, showed them each to their assigned rooms. Kaz continued up, the steps curving under his feet as he passed the second landing, this one for Second and Third years, who were likely already in bed. Nothing but hushed voices could be heard, but even those were quickly silenced at the steady sound of his cane against the floorboards.

By now, they all knew who it was. Kaz felt the corner of his mouth twitch up, a tad prideful. The third landing, Fourth and Fifth years, was empty, as they were all still in the Common Room. Kaz reached the fourth landing, Sixth and Seventh years, and though he was a Sixth Year, he continued up one final staircase. His leg was aching, and he clenched his teeth against the pain, at last reaching a large gray door.

The attic was not meant to be used by the students, according to Sturmhond, few even knew it existed. So Kaz had taken it up, made it his own space. And though his leg complained, he wasn’t sorry he’d made the choice. It gave him his own space, a privacy one could never hope to attain in a shared bedroom.

Kaz let out a sigh. He was back, and he was glad of it. He finally allowed himself to feel the fatigue clawing up his body. Sleep. That would do him some good. But when he reached for the doorknob, Kaz paused. It was clean. The elves that prepared the rooms for the arrival of the students never cleaned the attic. It was the only reason Kaz allowed some of his belongings to stay behind during the breaks. Normally, after three months, the knob was covered in dust.

Kaz let his eyes travel down the doorway, snagging on something at the bottom. Dirt.

Fresh. 

He stiffened a bit, tightening his grip on his cane. Students never dared come up to his room. They feared him, and for good reason too. Any clients he dealt with knew to send an owl and arrange a time.

Kaz opened the door carefully, taking a step inside. The room looked exactly as he had left it. A standard, four-poster bed with green linen sat on the right side of the room, the small side table stacked with books beside it. On the other side of the room, next to the only window in all of the Slytherin Dungeons, sat a large desk littered with papers and letters, still more books he’d taken from the library and never returned. The gray metal chair resting in front of the desk was occupied.

“ _ Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? _ ” The person sitting at the chair lowered the book in his hands. His blue eyes were icy as they watched Kaz. The man had a gaunt face, some might consider it a handsome one, though he was likely in his forties. Brekker did not like him, though it had nothing to do with the rumors surrounding his wife’s death.

Kaz Brekker did not like anyone who barged into his living space and rummaged through his stuff. Even if it  _ was _ the temporary Headmaster of Hogwarts.

“Professor Van Eck,” Kaz acknowledged, still standing by the door.

“I’ve always hated Shakespeare, you know, but Bayur insisted literature was as essential to a Wizard as it was for a Muggle.” Van Eck said, closing the book in his hands and placing it on the desk.

“Well, you won’t have his opinions in the way now, will you?” Kaz said, his voice low, his meaning clear. 

Van Eck eyed him for a moment before canting his head “shut the door, Mister Brekker, I have something to discuss with you.”

Kaz didn’t move. If Van Eck had something to discuss with him, he could have called him to the office, or sent an owl. Unless, of course, this something was not within the rules of Hogwarts, giving Kaz the upper hand.

“Discuss.” Kaz said simply, straightening his back. Van Eck watched him for a moment, his gaze falling to the Cobra’s head, and to the gloved fingers gripping it.

“No matter,” he muttered, shifting his gaze to meet Kaz’s eyes. “Mister Brekker, I am not a fool. I am fully aware of the happenings in my school, even the…  _ forbidden _ ones.”

He lingered on the word forbidden, almost threateningly. As though he hoped to scare Kaz into some sort of confession. Kaz looked unamused. 

“I'm not sure what you mean, Professor.” He said smoothly, earning a frustrated sigh from Van Eck, as he narrowed his eyes at Kaz.

“The Professors, the students… they aren't quite as tight-lipped as you may hope, Mister Brekker. And you know how quickly rumors spread.” He glanced at the cane once again.

When Kaz said nothing, the man stood, straightening his coat. “I am not here to blackmail you, Mister Brekker,”

Kaz raised a brow. Clearly.

“I am here to request your… effort, for an assignment, of sorts.” he explained, walking the length of the room as he spoke.

“Are you stopping by every students’ dorm, or am I just special?” Kaz asked drily. 

“I don’t believe any other student would be willing to take on this assignment. It's rather… delicate.” Van Eck said, stopping in front of the window. He looked out for a moment, taking in the view of the forest from the ground level.

“What makes you so certain that I’ll agree?” Kaz asked.

“You were never exactly a star-student, Mister Brekker. Headmaster’s office twice in your first year, twice more the year after that… but not since.” 

“I’ve been a good boy.” Kaz replied, sarcasm dripping off of every word. He let his weight shift so he was leaning better on his cane. Van Eck turned away from the window, his eyes on Kaz once more.

“You see, Mister Brekker, I don’t think you have been.” he said, “When Professor Bayur went missing, may his return be quick-”

Kaz snorted, but Van Eck ignored him.

“-he had a hidden gem in this castle. A special stone, of sorts. A healing stone.” Van Eck continued, and Kaz had to admit his interest was piqued.

“You’ve no doubt heard of the match?” Van Eck asked. Kaz nodded slowly. Inej had sent him an owl two weeks ago with news clippings about it. The largest Quidditch match in history was to be held at Hogwarts, and they were inviting every school on this side of the globe.

“That should be the perfect distraction for you, Mister Brekker.” Van Eck said. Kaz raised both brows.

“Pardon?”

“I would like you to find the stone, and bring it to me. I'm offering you compensation, of course, Mister Brekker. 5 million Galleons.” Van Eck had the smug look of someone who knew he’d swayed his buyer. Unfortunately for him, Kaz had standards.

“And what’s a student meant to do with an extra chunk of cash?” he asked. Van Eck blanched at his outward opposition.

“What- I spoke to the professors. This is far more than you are offered on average, Mister Brekker. Your chosen currency, not mine.”

Kaz chose not to tell Van Eck that it was, in fact, a large number. And that the money he earned from jobs like this was all stashed away in a Gringotts bank, waiting for him to graduate. Waiting for that perfect spot on High Street where Old Man Haskell ran a petty bar. The type of place that just needed the right drink, the perfect paint, to become the only place at Hogsmeade you went for a drink.

Kaz canted his head, and Van Eck’s smug smile returned. He walked right up to Kaz, hand held out before him to shake on it. Kaz clasped the Professor’s hand tightly, staring him down.

“Ten.” he said.

“What-?” Van Eck looked stricken, his face paling, but Kaz didn’t back down.

“You said it was a healing stone, Professor. If you’re so desperate to get it, I’m assuming someone you care for is in critical need of it. Doesn’t matter to me. You’re desperate, you came to me, even though this breaks every law on Hogwarts grounds. And I have to round up some students willing to miss a grand match, and willing to put themselves at risk of expulsion. Not an easy task.” 

Kaz’s voice was low, his grip on the other man’s hand tight. For a moment, he thought Van Eck might disagree, turn away and deduct a ridiculous number of points from Slytherin then making Kaz’s year a living hell. But then, his icy blue eyes filled with something like disdain, Van Eck nodded, letting go of Kaz’s gloved hand.

“The deal is the deal,” he said quietly.

“The deal is the deal” Kaz agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This update took way too long, so here's some Wesper for ya! I always imagined they would meet in the most chaotic way possible.  
> If you like it, drop some kudos or a comment, they really make my day!  
> ~

The Potions class was a large, dimly lit room with desks arranged in pairs. Between every two desks lay a large cauldron and there was often a bunch of ingredients and tools scattered around it. 

As a general rule, the students choose their seats from day one, and with them the pair they wish to work alongside for the remainder of the year. 

Jesper and Specht had paired up the previous year, but on the first day of the new semester, his partner dropped Potions in favor of Astronomy, leaving him out to dry.

Nina and Inej had already claimed their seats when Jesper entered, ten minutes late, to his class.

They'd be taking classes with the Ravenclaws this year, Jesper noted, taking in the blue-gray ties half the class was wearing.

Unfortunately for him, the Gryffindors were an odd number in this class, and Jesper was left with no familiar faces. He turned to scan the Ravenclaws, hoping to recognize someone.

Jesper knew most of the Slytherins- many were his friends, and he got along with quite a few Hufflepuffs as well, but Ravenclaws never really clicked with him. In general, they kept to themselves, taking a haughty tone to anyone who spoke to them. The whole 'intellectual ability' part really got their heads.

At first, Professor Boreg paid him no attention, not even to lecture him about time management- he must have realized by now that it was useless- but when Jesper didn't take a seat yet, he turned to him.

"Fahey, nice of you to join us. Why don't you have a seat beside Hendricks- God knows you could stand to learn a thing or two from him" he said, looking down at Jesper through his spectacles. The class finally took notice of him, and Nina cut him a glare that said;  _ that's what you get for being late. _

He glared right back. How was he supposed to keep track of  _ every _ lesson they take? He'd only been here five years.

Jesper tore his gaze away from Nina, his eyes landing on the aforementioned  _ Hendricks _ . He raised both eyebrows when he saw the boy. He must have been at least three years younger than the rest of them, his face nearly as red as his curly hair.

_ Specht you goddy bastard _

The Professor resumed his instructions as Jesper made his way to the front desk, sliding into the empty seat beside Hendricks, and dropping his bag on the floor.

In nearly every class Jesper had been in, he'd made a point of sitting in the back. If the Professors can't see you, he reasoned, then you can't get in trouble for anything you might choose to do in their classes.

But up here in the front, the light was so much brighter, and he could see the pimple on the old man's nose.  _ Too close _ .

Jesper was so focused on the pimple that he didn't hear a word come out of his Professor's mouth. The class began to shuffle, everyone retrieving their bags, opening their books and getting started on the assignment.

Jesper didn't even know what the assignment was.

"Hey, kid, you've any idea what to do?" Jesper asked, stretching his long legs out in front of him as he spoke.

"Yes." He said simply, not looking up. Hendricks reached past the cauldron to grab a container that had what looked like a snake's skin. He retrieved a long, thin scalpel and began to slice it down the middle expertly.

Jesper made a face, wondering what happened to the snake that once wore it.

He noticed the manual left untouched on the desk. The other students had begun reading immediately.

"Should we... You know, read the instructions?" Jesper asked.

"I know what I'm doing." Hendricks replied, placing half the skin in the cauldron, and setting aside the rest. 

He reached for a jar with a strange liquid that began to bubble once the lid was removed.

"That looks disgusting," Jesper said, leaning forward to get a better look at it.

"Not a big fan of this class, huh?" Hendricks asked, his ears going pink as Jesper leaned closer.

"Never have been, never will be. Especially not with mister _ 'if it explodes, Fahey, it's a screw-up' _ " Jepser said, as Hendricks dumped the bubbling liquid into the cauldron, where it met the skin with a hiss.

"Did he use that word? Screw-up?" Hendricks asked, as steam began to rise from the giant bowl.

"He said something posh like-" Jesper fell into his best attempt at a British accent "-'you've botched it Fahey, no need to applaud'"

Hendricks snorted, then immediately his face turned pink again. 

Jesper smiled a bit, it was  _ really _ easy to make him blush.

It took a minute before either of them spoke again, as Hendricks pulled out a fly-like insect, holding it by its wings, then added it to the strange mix. 

"Fahey? Is that your name?" He asked, not looking away from his work.

"Jesper, but no amount of talking will convince him to use my first name," he said.

"It's unprofessional," Hendricks said thoughtfully, before adding "and I'm Wylan, by the way. Not Hendricks. Well, I  _ am _ Hendricks- but not like  _ Hendricks  _ Hendricks- it's just a name, a very common one- I think? Maybe, but it's just-" the boy- Wylan, was becoming quickly flustered as he spoke rapidly, and Jesper might’ve enjoyed it a bit more if his eyes hadn’t caught on the cauldron, where the smoke began to turn purple.

"Hey, Wylan? That can't be normal"

"It's a normal name-"

"No,  _ the purple smoke- _ "

But before Wylan or Jesper could do anything to stop it, the mixture made one last hiss and then exploded right before them, the blast knocking the breath out of them both.

Jesper coughed, his eyes getting blurry as smoke filled the air. He couldn't see very well, but Wylan seemed to have been thrown back in his seat, having been closer to it, and was coughing uncontrollably.

The Professor hurried towards them, the expression on his face one of pure shock.

"What have you  _ done _ , Fahey?" He said- which was unfair, as Jesper had hardly touched the mixture since the class bagun- but Jesper couldn't get the words out of his mouth to argue, as another cough shook his body.

"-least now we know Specht was never the problem" he thought he heard Nina say behind him, but everything was growing distant.

_ I definitely should've stayed in bed _ Jesper thought, rubbing at his eyes.

The Professor waved his wand, mutterung a familiar spell under his breath that made the smoke disperse quickly.

He then grabbed a glass of water from a nearby desk, and offered it to Jesper, before making another one appear for Wylan.

Jesper took a deep breath, as the coughing subsided then took a large sip of water, letting it cool his scratchy throat. He watched Wylan drink quietly from his own cup.

"Five points from Ravenclaw and double from Gryffindor" the Professor said, his expression having gone quickly from disappointed to angry.

The class began to boo, some of them yelling at Jesper for causing their loss. He wasn't even sure arguing was worth it, so Jesper kept his mouth shut and drank his water.

"I'm the one who left it unattended, sir. Jesper didn't do anything" Wylan said suddenly, his voice small and his face growing redder with every word. He was addressing the Professor, but his eyes were on the water.

"I am very disappointed in you, Hendricks. You have so much potential- it's why I let you in this class to begin with. Don't make me regret that decision. Five more points." The Professor said, looking like the loss physically pained him.

Once he turned away and left, Jesper turned to his partner, who was having a staring contest with his glass.

"Careful there, any more bravery and they might just stick you in Gryffindor," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Wylan didn't respond, and the look on his face was a bitter one. Jesper suspected he didn't get in trouble often, and was probably never the cause of such a loss for the team.

Well, they didn't have  _ that _ in common.

"What'd he mean? Don't you get to choose your classes? Why's he making you feel guilty like that?" Jesper asked, hoping the questions would distract him.

He didn't respond at first, but then Wylan said, his voice very quiet "I'm only a fourth year… he let me take these advanced classes because I'm good at Potions." 

_ That makes sense. _

"Well, cheers kid. To making things go boom" Jesper said, raising his glass with a smile.

Wylan snorted, "I'd prefer they go boom when I  _ want _ them to," he said, shaking his head.

"Then, to making things go boom- in general" Jesper tried again, tilting his glass towards Wylan. 

After a moment, the other boy clanked his water glass against Jesper's, a small smile playing at his lips.

"To making things go boom."

After Potions class, Jesper headed straight for the Forbidden Forest. Kaz had asked to meet him just at the edge of it, where a cement staircase at the back of the castle hid them from the eyes of any professors. They’d discovered the place their second year at Hogwarts, and it had remained abandoned since Kaz took claim to it.

The note Jesper had received, tucked into his backpack by some ridiculous spell Kaz would never share, had been very brief, and revealed little.

_ You know where to find me. _

Jesper did know, of course, where Kaz would be, but why they were meeting was a question he could almost never answer. With Kaz, it could range anywhere from taking a walk to hiding a body.

The latter had only happened once, granted it had been a cat, but Jesper would not put it past Kaz Brekker to ever need to hide a real body. Then again, he didn’t put much past Kaz as a general rule.

It was cold out, not the type that warranted snow anytime soon, but chilly nonetheless, and Jesper pulled the coat of his uniform tighter around his body. His tie, the most ridiculous piece of cloth to ever grace his body, was loose and hung low on his chest. Professors often complained about his lack of ‘respect for the school’ because of the carefree way he chose to don his uniform. Still, they never got far past that.

Against their better judgment, they all rather liked Jesper.

There were six cemented pillars rising from the grassy grounds at the bottom of the steps. They had always reminded Jesper of the Standing Stones, rumored by the muggles to have been raised from the ground by witches. In a way, he supposed, they likely were. Just not the kind of witches they pictured.

Jesper had always been interested in muggle history, especially since his father was one. He’d been told, far more times than he’d like, the story of how the young Scottish farmer had been saved from a dreadful fate at the hands of a Dementor by a powerful sorceress. 

His mother, of course. Jesper never let them get farther than that, because at this particular part in the story, his parents made disgustingly tender faces at each other, and he was reminded that his age and the time since this story’s occurrence were… strangely close.

Kaz was leaning against one of the pillars inside the little circle the stones created, his fingers drumming along the head of the Cobra on his cane as he spoke, seemingly to no one.

“Hey, Jesper,” said a voice, and Jesper looked up to find a girl perched on the pillar beside Kaz’s, loose dark hair blowing out of her braid as she watched the world from up above.

“How the hell did you get up there, Ghafa?” he said incredulously, but Inej only smiled at him, and he had to remind himself that, of course, Gryffindor’s seeker could find a way to climb literally anything.

"Way to be inconspicuous, Brekker," a different voice said behind him, and Jesper turned to see Nina approaching, nibbling at a cookie in her hand. Where Jesper gave little to no care about the way he dressed at school, Nina made it her personal aim to dress her best.

The first few buttons of her white dress shirt were left open, giving a hint of the curves she didn't try too hard to hide. Her tie, rather than looping around her neck, was sewed onto the fourth button of the shirt, and stopped several inches short of her waist, where she'd cut it to the perfect length. Her skirt reached halfway down her knees in a way that wasn't allowed at school, and was definitely a bad idea for the coming winter, but who would stop Nina Zenik from doing what she liked?

"If I was trying to be inconspicuous, Zenik, you wouldn't have found me," Kaz said matter-of-factly.

Nina ignored him, her attention instead falling to Inej, who dropped down off the pillar, landing in a graceful crouch. Nina beamed at her, offering half her cookie to the shorter girl.

"Oh, is that chocolate?" Jesper asked, taking a step forward and reaching for a piece, but Nina batted his hand away, narrowing her green eyes threateningly in his direction.

"Away from the food, Fahey, or I'll start testing those transfiguration lessons on you," 

Inej snorted, popping a piece into her mouth. Jesper recoiled from the threat. 

Nina was very,  _ very _ bad at transfiguration. She'd once turned a cat into a chair and the poor thing would cry out anytime someone sat on it.

Irritated, he turned to Kaz, who was watching them all with his dark gaze. Jesper thought his eyes might've lingered on Inej, but he knew that was a ridiculous assumption.

"So, what'd you call us here for?" Jesper asked, slipping his hands into the pockets of his coat and leaning onto one of the pillars, watching Kaz.

"I've another assignment, if you're up for it," he said, as though he had no doubts whatsoever of everyone's willingness to join.

"From Per Haskell?" Jesper asked. The man owned a bar in Hogsmeade, the dirty kind where the lowest wizards liked to hang out. Kaz had been drawn to the place like a moth to light, and there he'd discovered someone willing to trade correspondence with a Hogwarts student.

Per Haskell sent clients Kaz's way, then got a cut of the money any clients paid Kaz. And Kaz, for whatever reason, tended to take these assignments.

Maybe it was for the cold hard cash everyone seemed to crave, maybe it was for something else, Kaz never told. Jesper was often part of these simply because he couldn't help getting dragged into Kaz's world. He wasn't sure why the others came too, but there they were, solid as the pillars around them, waiting for Kaz to drop next piece of the puzzle.

"No," he said with a slight quirk if his lips "this one's from Mister Van Eck" 

Inej gaped at him " _ Deputy Headmaster _ Van Eck?"

Kaz inclined his head, and Jesper found his mind flashing back to the speech the man had given only days before, about how their Headmaster had gone missing, the remorseful tone in his voice as he spoke of becoming his temporary replacement.

No one bought it, but Bayur had not been of sound mind when he'd been missing. There were rumors surrounding him even before his sudden disappearance. Jesper didn't think the Ministry would put too much effort in finding him.

After all, Van Eck was wealthy, could easily be swayed, and already had his fingers in too many pies to count. Perfect puppet, he supposed, whereas Bayur was a kind elderly gentleman. He would trail off halfway through his speeches, his eyes straying to the walls.

Now Van Eck wanted something from his most shady student, so recently after the Headmaster's disappearance. Jesper couldn't help but connect the two thoughts, as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, suddenly buzzing with energy.

He realized Kaz had been talking.

"-be too difficult, we've pulled some pretty similar ones in the past, and this time we've even got the perfect distraction."

He paused, his eyes landing on the Cobra's head, "we just need to round up a few more willing parties. Specht is pretty decent in potions, but we may need someone who knows a thing or two about explosions"

_ To making things go boom. _

"Hey, Brekker?" Jesper said, a small smile coming onto his face as the familiar buzz of a mission raced through his veins "I think I know a guy"


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long! Here's some Helnik for the soul, and a bit of background on how their story plays out in this fic.   
> If you like it, leave kudos and a comment!  
> Stay safe~

Durmstrang looked more like a fortress than a castle. When Matthias had first arrived, he feared it the way a child fears the shadows beneath his bed. The sharp towers cut across the sky, outlining it in an almost dangerous manner. Now, cloaked in sheets of white snow, he could think of it only as beautiful. 

He kept these thoughts close to his heart as they boarded the ship. The water would be iced over soon, but for now its waves slapped against the ship’s dark wood, as though beckoning it into the water’s depths.

A heavy hand fell onto Matthias’ shoulder, and a deep voice spoke “ _ muntre opp, gutt _ ”  _ cheer up, lad _ . Was his concern so obvious?

He looked up at the person beside him. Professor Brum was a large man with an even larger presence. His icy blue eyes could cut straight into your soul like a knife finding its target. But Matthias did not fear his mentor, nor did he allow the rumors surrounding the man to change his opinion of him.

“I am eager to return, is all,” he said, switching to English. They would be speaking it during their entire journey, and Matthias’ tongue needed to readjust to the language. It had been so long since he had spoken to anyone in it. 

The Professor nods once, his gaze travelling back to the school. “When we return,” he said, his accent thick, nearly swallowing the foreign words, “we be  _ seirende _ ” 

_ Victorious _ . Matthias smiled, straightening his back at the confidence in the man’s tone. It had been Brum who suggested Matthias join the Quidditch team when he’d first arrived at Durmstrang, a scared little boy. Now, as Brum let his hand fall from Matthias’ shoulder, turning to the awaiting ship, Matthias was ever so grateful for the faith Brum had placed in him.

He would be returning now. To the place that once welcomed him and then turned him away. The one that had promised him years of love and care, of joy and adventure, before ripping it all away. But when Matthias had left Hogwarts, he was just a Fourth Year, a child, really, hardly old enough to properly command a broom.

Now, he was returning a man, Year Seven, Captain of his team, leader of his House. He had much to be proud of.

“Helvar!” someone calls behind him. They have all boarded the ship, and Matthias turns to his teammates as well, marching onto the deck like a soldier heading into battle. One of his teammates, Jakob, claps him on the back as they drift away from land. He watches the students left behind. They do not shout and wave, instead, they place a fist to their heart in salute.

It was a reminder of the oath given to their school, the one sworn before being welcomed into Durmstrang. Matthias fisted his own hand to his chest, the words returning to him now.

_ I have been made to protect you, only in death will I be kept from this oath. _

He had managed to block out the memories, as they’d settled onto the ship, separated into their own temporary cabins for the week-long journey, two bunks in each cabin. Seeing as Matthias was the Captain, and their number fell short of one, he would have a room to himself. Perhaps the knowledge that there would only be his thoughts to occupy him that night was the real reason he postponed going to bed.

Matthias reached the door, light brown wood and a simple round metal knob dividing him from every other student on the ship. Dividing him now from the nightmares sure to follow.

“Mister Helvar?” said a small, timid voice. Matthias shut his eyes tight, recognizing the boy’s voice even before he turned. 

“Arvid,  _ ja _ ?” he asked him, smiling politely. The boy was a lanky fourth year, with bright red hair and freckles dotting his face, and at the sound of his name, he beamed at Matthias, green eyes going wide with excitement.

Arvid. Matthias recalled him only vaguely, from the last Quidditch match they had played. The boy thought of Brum as a saint, and would do anything and everything to please him. Matthias supposed he himself was not so different, but Arvid seemed to worship the man, and Matthias in turn, since he was favored by Brum.

“ _ Ja _ ! I’m the Seeker, do you remember me? I helped us win the last game!” he was so excited, practically stumbling over his own words. Matthias did not mention that during the last game, though he had caught the Snitch and was indeed the cause of their triumph, the boy had fallen off his broom and wound up in the infirmary for a week. 

“I do recall,” Matthias said, “you were very brave, Arvid,” he turned back to his door, more willing now to enter, but the boy was not finished.

“Thank you! I think Professor Brum will be very glad he chose us for this match, right? We’re a great team! If you wanted, you could even come and bunk with me, Jakob won’t mind trading!” 

Matthias grimaced at the hopeful tone the boy used. He chose not to turn around, for fear of giving in upon seeing those innocent eyes.

“I’m actually quite tired, go on and get some sleep, ja?” he said, then entered, closing the door behind him, without waiting for a response.

Everytime he closed his eyes, he saw her.

Bright green eyes, curved red lips, wavy brown hair, and every time his heart seemed to palpitate, a mixture of anger and longing overtaking him.

The first time Matthias had met Nina, he had not been a wizard. In fact, though he knew of Wizards, and their world, he hated them. 

He was still living at the orphanage, and their caretaker had returned with a surprise. She had spoken to some psychiatrist, and determined that pets would help the orphans cope with the loss of their parents. Matthias remembered staying in his room as all the other boys raced to find their match.

_ Idioter _ , he’d thought. Idiots.

They lived in a house at the top of the hill deep in the North Highland, a secluded place. These animals would not last with them. So while the boys were all leaping with excitement, and choosing names for their puppies, Matthias slipped away.

It was nearly dawn, he recalled, and the sun blanketed everything in a farewell of golden light, casting the trees in long shadows. Matthias glanced in one of the windows, keeping an eye out for the harsh woman who cared for them, whose name he did not remember. She was standing beside a large cage, where a huge Husky was sitting, baring his teeth at all the children.

“He’s too old, no one wants him,” he heard the woman murmur to one of the maids. Hadn’t they said the same thing about Matthias?

He shook his head, slipping his hands into his pockets and making his way down the sloping hill and into the thicket of trees. It was quiet, and the trees caved in around him, hiding him away. He could almost picture that he was home, that his mother would pop out from behind one of the thick trunks and smile at him, kind blue eyes softening. Or that his little sister, Sofie, would race past him, shrieking with laughter, teasing him until he played with her.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that when something did appear from behind a tree, he started, and the large shape headed right for him, tackling him to the ground. Matthias began to panic, ready to scream and call out when a voice sounded.

“Come back here!” it said, in a loud whisper. Matthias frowned up at the face of the dog, eyes bloodshot and ears perked up, there was drool dripping out the sides of his open mouth.

“Oh, no you don’t!” that voice again, then something strange, a word, foreign to Matthias, and a spark of light, then the dog was off him, having rolled away, now panting and whimpering on his side.

Matthias sat up, his hands digging into the earth beneath him, and watched the dog. It was a Husky, the same one he’d seen through the window, the one no one wanted. 

“Are you alright? He can be rather aggressive,” now Matthias turned to see the speaker. It was a girl, likely younger than he was, with brown hair that spilled down her back in waves. She was dressed in a robe, the kind they wore at those preppy schools, with a red and gold tie around her neck. She was watching him warily with a pair of bright green eyes.

In her hand was a stick.

“Sweet Djel!” Matthias cried, shooting up to his feet and holding out his hands, as if to stop a coming attack. The girl raised a brow at him.

“What- what’d you do to him?” he asked suddenly, glancing back at the fallen dog. He wasn’t moving, hardly anything but a pile of thick white fur curled up on the ground. 

“Well I didn’t kill him, obviously,” she sounded irritated, rolling her eyes. “He’s just asleep.”

Matthias narrowed his eyes at her in suspicion, then glanced back at the floor, where the form was lying placidly, and he could now make out the faint rise and fall of his chest.

“Oh.” he said.

“Yeah, oh. What are you doing out here, anyways?” she asked him, taking on an accusatory tone. Matthias felt his face heat, he was not supposed to be out past dark, and what light the sun had provided was already receding slowly over the hills. He had been looking for an excuse, he realized.  _ An excuse for who? _

“None of your business,” he snapped, turning back to the dog, “he and I have to be off now,”

“You can’t take him, he’s mine.” the girl said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Matthias raised a brow at her.

“It's one thing to show up in the middle of the forest here,  _ drüsje _ , it's another to kidnap someone’s pet.” he crouched down beside the dog, running a hand through its thick fur affectionately.

“Did you just call me a witch?” she asked.

“Are you not one?” he replied calmly. If she knew much about his homeplace, she would know he did not mean it as a compliment.

“Well- yes, but not like that!” she said, evidently recognizing the insult for what it was.

“Come now,  _ Trassel _ ,” he murmured softly to the dog, attempting to wake him, but the form remained unmoving.

“Is that his name?” Now, it seemed the girl had lost interest in their back and forth, hanging onto what he’d said.

It was not. He’d referred to the dog as  _ troublemaker _ , but if Matthias wanted the girl to believe the dog was his, he needed a name.

“Yes,” he said, “His name is Trassel, and he’s my friend.”

The girl’s name was Nina. She was lost, though she would not admit to it. She claimed to be meeting a friend, and Matthias had allowed her to live the lie until they’d reached the door of the orphanage.

“This is where your friend is?” he had asked, somewhat amused.

“Yes,” she replied, tilting her chin up, “it is. You may go now.” 

But Matthias had stayed, daring her to knock. When she did, he felt his stomach drop. This did not look good, not for either of them, he would be in enough trouble being the oldest and having run off, but to return with a girl? Their caretaker would go nuts.

“Hide your stick,” he whispered quickly to the girl.

“It's not a stick, it's a  _ wand- _ ” she replied, but Matthias only snatched it from her hand, slipping it into the back pocket of his jeans.

“Helvar! Where have you been!” the caretaker’s round face had gone red with anger, and she fixed her dark gaze on Matthias.

“I apologize, miss-” he’d started to say, but to his surprise, the girl interrupted.

“I’m terribly sorry, he was only helping me find my way through the forest, and we must have lost track of time. I need to get to Kings Station, you see, to meet with my mother. Is there a chance someone could take me there?” as she spoke, she seemed to change in front of him, her face becoming innocent, not a trick in her smile or a lie in her eyes.

He wondered if all wizards were like this.  _ Curse them. _

The caretaker smiled a kind smile at Nina, her eyes softening. 

“Sweetheart, it's too late to go anyplace, but you can stay with us for the night, and I’ll walk you there myself in the morning, how does that sound?”

Nina had said it sounded wonderful, or something of the sort, Matthias could only remember the way her eyes had sparkled, her bright smile, the way the wind blew her hair just so.

They were ushered in, and the dog, who had awoken with another flick of Nina’s wand, followed.

After dinner, where Nina had managed to charm all his fellow orphans in a way he never could, she was set in a room. Matthias was practically boiling with anger by the time he had the chance to speak to her alone again, where she was in the kitchen, nibbling at a strange circular dessert that had not been in the kitchen long as he had stayed at that orphanage.

“What are you thinking?” he whispered angrily to her. Nina only watched him from above her strange cookie-like food, and shrugged.

“Just what you heard, Helvar. I’m staying the night, and I’ll leave in the morning.”

“And who will meet you at Kings Station? Your mother?” he asked, annoyed.

“Well, that would not be possible, seeing as she’s dead, but I’ll find my way just fine.” with that, she left the kitchen, a trail of crumbs following her, as Matthias was left in a stunned silence.

_ Another orphan _ , he thought, and tried to ignore the way his heart sped up. 

_ A witch _ , he reminded himself,  _ nothing but tricks and lies _ .

The next day, it snowed. Not the type of gentle white wisps they had in the west, no this snow was thick, and it blanketed the grounds and the trees, turning everything on the hill to a beautifully placid white color.

Nina would have to wait until the snow was gone, their Caretaker informed them.

Trassel wagged his tail in delight, and Matthias only cast her an irritated look.

One night, nearly a week after Nina’s arrival, Matthias awoke in a cold sweat. His dreams had been filled with the same scene that had haunted him since his arrival, dark clouds, a shadowy figure, lightning erupting from the point of a wand.

He slid off his cot, pulling on his old coat to stop the shivers racking his body. The floorboards beneath his feet were ice cold, and they sent flashes of his dream back to Matthias,  _ blood dotting the snow _ .

Matthias tried not to think of the flashes that became more vivid with each night. He had not been there the night his parents and his sister were murdered, but Matthias had heard enough from the caretakers, even the other orphans for his mind to recreate the memories and terrorize him.

He found his way to the kitchen, and filled a tall glass with water, watching through the window as the storm outside pulled at branches, tearing down trees with its intensity. You could hardly see anything but snow, hanging over the place like a thick fog. Matthias was about to refill his glass and return to bed when he heard a loud crash.

“Trassel, get away!” the person whispered angrily. Matthias turned the corner and found Nina, her wand held high up threateningly as Trassel pulled at the sleeve of her robes.

“What are you doing there?” he asked, and though he had been quiet enough, she started, turning her wand on Matthias. He stiffened.

“Oh, it's just you,” she said, relaxing and lowering her wand. Matthias wanted to ask exactly what she might have done to the person had it not been him.

“Don’t tell me you mean to go out there,” he said, the realization dawning on him as he took in her robes, the small bag of what was likely food in her hand that Trassel was sniffing at with interest, and the haughty lift to her chin.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” she responded. Matthias gaped at her, stunned. He set his glass down on the counter and then pointed at the large window.

“Do you know what that is,  _ drüsje _ ?” he asked her slowly, as though speaking to a child. Nina crossed her arms over her chest, so the tip of her wand rested against her sleeve.

“Yes,  _ obviously,  _ it's a storm-” she began.

“It's a  _ blizzard, _ ” Matthias corrected, his voice turning as icy as the weather, “do you want me to explain to you in detail exactly what a windchill like that can do to you?”

She straightened, green eyes losing a bit of their determination as she glanced behind him warily.

“It’s already calming down,” she said, which was untrue. If anything, the storm had grown more ruthless since it began hours before.

“Listen, just head straight to your room, and you can leave when the blizzard blows over, I’ll even walk you to the station,  _ ja _ ?” Matthias let his voice take on a more placating tone, but something about his words must have set her off because Nina only raised her chin, her grip on her wand tightening.

“I don’t take orders from  _ barbarians _ ,” she snapped, “I’m a witch, and if you try to stop me I’ll bind your legs together so when you try to follow me that pretty face of yours will fall straight into the snow.”

Perhaps at another time, he might have had a quip ready for her, might have called her bluff, doubting that she could perform such a trick, but with Matthias’ dream still fresh in his head, all he could do was take a step back and away from her.

She took that as permission, threw open the door, and left the house. Trassel barked after her, glancing worriedly at Matthias.

“Let Djel take her,” Matthias snarled, coming to shut the door, but Trassel stood in his way.

“Trass, move come on, I’ll grab you a snack,” he said, but the Husky only sat in front of the open doorway, seemingly unbothered by the harsh wind blowing in.

Matthias stepped around the dog, ready to push him in when his eyes caught on a figure heading down the sloping hill, stumbling over her robes.

He glanced at Trassel, who seemed to say  _ are you truly going to leave her? _

Matthias was beginning to regret keeping the dog. Casting the Husky an irritated look, he grabbed a pair of his shoes and slipped them on.

It was going to be a long day.

In his memory the days spent lost in that blizzard blurred together. Just him and Nina, and white, white,  _ white  _ snow everywhere he looked. The loss of sensation in his feet, the tips of his fingers, his face. Nina performed little tricks with her wand. 

_ This for a fire to warm us, this for a light to guide us, and this _ .. Here, she had let what looked like a stream of yellow silk tumble out from the tip of her wand, it gathered itself into a ball with two long ears perking up.

“What in the name of  _ Djel  _ is that for?” he’d asked, brows furrowed, irritation in his voice to conceal his amazement.

“It’s a bunny, idiot,” Nina had replied, rolling her eyes, even as she tucked herself closer to him, tugging the blanket tighter around her shoulder.

“And what is it for?” Matthias had asked, watching the bare outline of what was, in fact, a bunny hop from place to place, 

“To entertain us,” she’d said, “while we wait.”

He remembered asking himself what exactly they’d be waiting for. Who would come for two missing orphans in a cabin so far into the forest you could hardly see past its green on a normal day, and on these days, its terrible white.

But he had not asked, instead watching the little bunny jump around as if the creaking wooden boards were a springfield, and decided they could worry the next day, and have what might be called peace for now.

Those were not even the hardest memories to get through, when they chose to haunt Matthias. No, those days of uncertainty and fear of death were the good portion of their story. It was later that it all came crashing down, it was being awoken to a room filled with strangers, to a dozen wands pointed in his direction. It was seeing Nina bundled in a fresh coat where a little bunny once sat. it was realizing they were on opposite sides of this strange fight.

It was the memory, playing like a broken record in his mind of her perfect red lips forming the same word over and over again.  _ Sorry, sorry sorry. _


End file.
